Rail stay



J. M. VAIL RAIL STAY July 1 1930.

- Filed May 20, 1929 Patented July 1, 1930 PATENT QOEFFICE U NI i aosnrn 1V4,

RAIL

. p u ationa fil 10, The general objectv of'the invention is to provide a stayparticularly,adaptedfor the purpose stated, which is simple in construction, which is strong and durable, which is easily and quickly applied, and which operates most efficiently.

The specificconstruction of the invention, in its present embodiment, its mode of operation, and the advantages thereof will be more particularly explained in connection with the accompanying drawings, illustrating the same. a

,In the drawings:

Figure 1 is aplan View of the invention as applied tofa railroad rail, a portion of the latter beingbrokenaway.

Figure2 is a section taken onthe'line -22 of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a sectiontaken onthe'line 33 ofFigureQ.

Figure.4 is a secti 4-4 of Figure 1'. Figure 5 is a perspective View of'a spring washerused in connectionwiththe invention. v V

The-inventionis shown as applied to a railroad rail Shaving base flanges 7 resting on cross ties f8. lt'comprises a clamping member '9 adapted to extend underneath the rail and .formed with an ;:abutment 10 adapted to-rest: against the side of a tie' 8. The outer end-of this clamping member is "formed with an upwardly and-rearwardly extending portion "11 "having 'on its "inner face, an inclined surface 12 adapted to wedge against the correspondingly inclined surface of the flange 7 The opposi-teend of the '1nember9 'is-rabbeted to form; a-'Iflat surface 13 opposed to the'bottomsurface of the rail "base and spaced therefrom 'to; receive the shankofa cooperatingclampingmember 14.

30 on takenv on the line or BRYAN, OHIO i STAY Serial No. 364,353.

Themember 14 is formed with a down i Wardly and rearwardly extending fla-nge portion 15 with an'inner inclined surface 216, adapted to wedge against thecorrespondingly' beveled surface on the end portion of the member 9. The member-14 also has an ,upwardly and rearwardlyextending flange portion 17 opposed to the flange portion 11 of the member 9 and having an inner inclined face 18 adapted to wedge against the 60,

vcorrespondingly inclined-surface of the rail .Inorder to aid in drawing the clamping members 9 and. 14 into clamping relation to the .railbase, one .of the clamping members, as 9, isformed with a stud 19, which extends upwardly above theface 13 and is .engageable witha laterally inclined slot, 20 in the other member 14. Thus, as the member,14' is driventoward the left as viewed inFigure 11, the stud 19-rides towardthe inner end of the slot 20 and forces the. two clamping members inwardly, wedgingthe flanges 7 between them.

In order to. securethe clamping members more firmly to the rail, a channel 21 is formed about, the stud 19'a-nd is adapted to receivea spring'washeror collar 22. The intermediate portion, of this washer or colslar is, substantially circular and terminates so in-a straight end portion23, the channeLQl having a correspondingly. shaped extension 24 to receive the same. "The other end25 of the, collar is raisediand is in positionto engagea beveledvsurface 26 formed on the S5 clamping; member 14, as. the latteris driven into o position.

As the end 25 of the collar rides on this beveled surface "26, it is'forced idOWIlWfi-ICllY into thechannnel21 and exerts a verypowerful upward ;pressure against .the shank of the member 14. :The. lattermay" be formed with a roughened or serrated surface 27, to'be engaged by the) endnofithei collar, thus constituting ratchet meansto prevent the clampinglmembersifrom' becoming separated after theyza're'driveninto position. In order toffacilitate the driving of the clamping members into "clampingrelation to the rail, one of' the clamping-members, as 14, is formed with a gnose 28 to receive 109 the blows of a sledge, while the abutment 10 formed on the other member rests against the side of the tie.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that I have provided a very simple, strong and eflicient clamping device whlch will grip the rail with very great pressure and cannnot slip or become detached therefrom. The stud 19 working in the slot 20 draws the two clamping members inwardly, while at the same time the spring washer 22, which is. very strong, forces the shank of the member 14 with very great pressure against the bottom of the rail, so that the clamping device cannot slip. In a double track system, the clamping device is applied with the abutment 10 against the side of a tie which will resist movement of the rail in the direction in which it has a tendency to creep. In a single track system, where it is desired to hold the rail against creeping in both directions, another clamping device may be applied to the same or another rail and turned in the opposite clirection.

While I have shown and described in considerable detail one embodiment of the invention, it is obvious that the same may be considerably modified without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

hat I claim is:

1. In a device of the character described, a pair of opposed clamping members, means for forcing said members inwardly with a rail gripped between them, and a resilient member operable at the same time to force one of said members against the rail in a direction transverse to the inwardly directed force.

2. In a device of the character described, a pair of opposed clamping members, means for forcing said members in a substantially horizontal direction against a rail disposed between them, and a resilient member operable at the same time to force one of said members in asubstantially vertical direction against the rail.

3. In a device of the character described, a pair of opposed clamping members adapted to engage the opposite base flanges of a ra1l, (Io-engaging means including a stud on one of said members and a laterally inclined slot in the other member for receiving said stud to draw said members toward each other and into clamping engagement with the rail as one member is driven longitudinally with respect to the other, and an expansibleratchet member acting between the two clamping members to maintain their engagement with the rail.

4. In a device of the character described,

. a pair of opposed clamping members adapted to engage the'opposite base-flanges of a "rail, an abutment on one of said members engageable with the edge of a cross tie,

while the other member is driven toward the same, co-engaging means for forcing said members into clamping relation to the rail during such driving operation, and an expansible ratchet member acting between the two clamping members to maintain their engagement with the rail.

5. In a device of the character described, a pair of opposed clamping members adaptedto clamp t0,the opposite flanges of a rail,

with shanks extending beneath the rail in ing flanges adapted to engage about the base flanges of a rail, wedge means to increase the clamping pressure as one of said members is driven with respect to the other, and a resilient ratchet member acting between the two clamping members to lock them in clamping position.

7. In a device of the character described,

a pair of clamping members provided with normally overlapping shanks and provided with means for forcibly engaging opposite base flanges of a rail when the two members are drawn together, and a resilient member acting between the overlapping portions to maintain such forcible engagement.

8. In a device of the character described, a pair of clamping members provided with normally overlapping shanks, means, including a pro ect1on on one of said members and a laterally inclined slot the other receiving such projection, for causing said members to forcibly clamp the rail when one of them is shifted longitudinally with respect to the other, and a resilient mem ber actingbetween the overlapping portions to maintain such forcible engagement.

9. In a device of the character 'described, a pair of clamping members provided with normally overlapping shanks, means, including a projection on one of said shanks and a laterally inclined slot in the other shank receiving said projection, for

causing said members to forcibly clamp the,

rail when of them is shifted longitudinally with respect to the other, and an expansile member acting between the shanks to increase the upward pressure of one of the shanks against the bottom of the rail during such longitudinal shifting.

10. In a device of the character described, a pair of clamping members provided with normally overlapping shanks, means, including a pro ection on one of said shanks and a laterally inclined slot in the other shank JOSEPH M. VAIL. 

